The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. – Psalm 103:8

This Sunday, we will be introducing a new song to our gathering, Thy Mercy, My God by Sandra McCracken, based on the hymn by John Stocker, which is off her album The Builder and the Architect. This expression of humble thanksgiving to God was written over two hundred years ago, and turns our attention to God’s great mercy towards us. The first verse revels with wonder at the transforming grace God has given believers. Verse two reminds us that our sin disqualifies us from knowing God and tasting real joy; but God has reversed our sinful condition out of his generous kindness, and overcome the coldness of our heart. Verse three celebrates that God’s “mercy is more than a match for my heart, which wonders to feel its own hardness depart,” a recognition that though we are great sinners, we have a Savior greater than our sin. The song then concludes with us singing about and praising God’s covenant love, which guarantees our ownership of His mercy. Here are the lyrics:

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy Ive found.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

You can listen to Thy Mercy, My God by watching the video below, and you can purchase and download the full song by clicking here. I pray that as we sing these verses, and plea and beg for God’s grace, we would do so with the confidence and faith knowing that He has, and will, provide abounding mercy and love through his son Jesus. May we weep for the praise of the mercy we’ve found!